Improvement in planter and seeding-machine



State/a anni itin.

SrEPHE-N S. KIMBAn-L, or LAcoNIA,'NEW HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNoR 'ro HIMSELP AND J. E. PnESco'r'r, or SAME PLACE.

Leners Patent No. S7,S55zaa z March. 16,1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN PLANTER AND SEEDING-MACHINE.

The Schedule referred to inthese Letters Patent and making part of the same.

-mhp* lnia,in the county of Belknap, and State of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful In'iprovcments in Corn-Planting and Seeding Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thehsame, reference being had tc the accompanying drawings, -which are made part of this specification, and of which- Figure 1 is a plan of a machine embodying my im. provements. j Figures 2, 3, 5, and 6, exhibit parts detached, and will be hereinafter more particularly referred to.

Figure 4 is a side view of the machine Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the Several figures.

In this machine, the wheels, hoppers, slides, conducting-tubes, and furrow-opening shovels, are made capable of lateral adjustment, in order that the ma#v `chine may be adapted for planting the seed in rows, at

any desired distance asunder.

TheAV shovels, or plows, are attached by springs, or elastic Shanks, to a rock-shaft, which affords a ready means of raising and lowering the shovels, and changing their operating-position. o

Provision is made for varying the capacity of the seed-cells ofthe Slides, and a novel device is employed for actuating the lever, whereby the seed-slides are reciprocated. In order that others skilled in the art to whichmy invention appertains, may be enabled t'o/fully understand and use the same, I will proceed to describe it in connection with theaunexed drawing.

AIA' A represent -three wheels, mounted upon' an axle-tree, B, 'which supports the main frame of the machine. 'The wheels are respectively situated directly behind thc hoppers, and may have peripheral grooves, to adapt them to cover the seed, over which they pass immediately after it is dropped.

The middle wheel,.A, may b'e keyed, or otherwise fixed in a. permanent position upon thc axle-tree, but the outer Wheels, A A, may'be moved to any desired ,position upon the axle B, and held in place by means of the collarsa a,which, when made fast to the axle at'opposite sides of the wheels A A', by means of setscrews a, a, hold the wheel against lateral movement thereon.

Scrapers, a2 a? a?) maybe applied to the main frame, so as to project into the grooves of the wheels, and

fr'ee them of earth. D is a bed-plate, secured to and extending across the forward part of the main frame, and supporting. the

hoppers C C' G', which correspond in number and position with the wheels A A' A.

' The hoppers are attached to boxes, E E E', (See iig.

2,) in which the seed-slides have a reciprocating 1nove-. ment, to drop the seedin regulated quantities, at` ap! propria'te intervals. at F, iig. 3.

Each slide has a cell, or pocket, f, one side of which is part of a movable block, ff, which can be moved to and held in any desired position, by means of a set- It will be understood that the slides F are held to spective hoppers and boxes, and the slides can -be adjusted upon the rod as citen as the position of said boxes and hopper-s may be changed.

The conducting-tubes H are iittedupon short necks, or tubes, projecting downward fromv the underfside of the boxes E E E. The boxes are provided with ears, which serve as guides for the rod G, which plays freely through the same. K

The plate D has longitudinal slots, d d, which admit of the adjustment of the outer hoppers, G'G, together with their boxes and conducting-tubes', so that they, as well as the wheels A A', may be placed nearer to or further from each other, according to the degree of separation of the rows planted by the machine at each passage-over the field.

. Set-Screws, or screw-bolts, I, passing through the slots d,.iuto the boxes E, and operating in connection with washers, i, Serve to hold the boxes, hoppers, and tubes in place, when adjusted. 'v During the operation of the machine, the motion of the seed-slides in one direction places their cells directly 1Neneath the openings inthe bottom of the. hoppers iiom which they are iilled.- rllhe motion of the slides in the opposite direction, places the ccll's directly over the 'openings in the bottom ofthe boxes, through which the contents of the cells are delivered into the tubes, Whiclrconduct the grain, or seed, to the earth.

J, iig. l, is au arm, fitted to slide upon the rod G, and held in any desired positionthereon, by a setscrew, r.

lThe arm J is acted upon by a vibrating lever, K, working upon a vertical pivot at k, and actuated by wedge-shaped blocks, L, attached to a disk, L', the latfitted therewith upon the axle B.

The disk L" derives rotary motion from the axle, and the action of the wedge-shapedblocks upon the lever, and the consequent action of the lever upon the arm J, impart a reciprocating movement to the rod Grand seed-slides, the arm J and rod Gr having a.returnmove ment given them by a'spl'ing, O, as often as they are impelled by the wcillgcs of the disk.

. circular series of perforations is formed in the disk L', as shown in iig. 4, to adapt the wedges to beheld in One of the seed-slides is shown 4 screw, f2, for the purposeof determining or varying the rod G at points to suit the positions of their reo ter being formed with anI annular flange,o1 collar, and Y different positions by screws, or screw-bolts, and enabling the number ofwedges to be readily increased or diminished, to suit the intervals at which the-seed-slides are to be actuated.

m is a clutch, fitted toslide upon a splined portion of the axle B, and moved by means of a lever, m.

The juxtaposition of the clutch with the ldisk L, causes the latter to rotate with the ax'le, but in order to arrest the motion of the disk L and of the seedslides, it is only necessary to slide the clutch away from the disk.

The shovels, or furrow-openers, N, are attached, by their shanks, to a shaft, P, which is slotted, as shown at n n, to admit of the lateral adjustment ofthe shovels, to adapt them to conform to the position of the other members of the machine.

' The shaft P is supported in bearings, in which it' vmay be turned axially, by means of a lever, Q, and lconnections, Q Q2,- for the purpose of turning the plows to their operating, or elevated position, the lever Q being detained by engagement with the teeth of a segment, R, so as to hold the shaft P, and the shovels, 'in the intended position.

The shovel-shanks are partially constituted by sprin gs n u', which render them capable of yielding to overriding obstacles without injury. The naves of the adjustable Wheels A may have indentations, as shown in fig. 5, to adapt them to be coupled with their respective collars chby lmeans' of a locking-spring, or detent, a, which is applied to the faces of the collars, inthe manner shown in iig. 6. -By thus coupling the wheels with-the collars, the former, aswell as the latter, arecompelled to turn with the axle.

The bar Sfw'nich is attached to the pivoted rod S',

`A marks the ground at the side of the machine, ateyery pers G O', when combined and operating substantially as described.

2. The adjustable Wheels A A', adjustable hoppers .0 O', and adjustable slides F, combined and operating substantially as described.

3. The slides F, attached to and made capable of adj nstment upon the rod G, in the manner and for the purpose set forth.'

4. The disks L', having a circular series of holes, for

the wedge-blocks L, in order to increase or decrease their number on said disk, for the purpose set forth. 4 5. The combination and arrangement of the disk L', blocks L, clutch m, levers K and m', arm J, spring O, rod G, and seed-slides F, as 'described and represented. 6. The slotted rock-shaft P, having the shanks of the shovels, or furrow-openers, Aadjustably attached thereto, as and for the purpose set forth.n

7. The springs n n', in combination with the shovels, or furrow-openers N and'rock-shait P, as and for the Object set fort-h.

The above signed by me, this 10th day of December, 1868.

i STEPHEN S. KIMBALL.

Witnesses:

J oHN A. WIEDERSHEIM, PHIL. F. LABNER. 

